In the field of golf, it is well-known that golf bags are utilized to carry golf clubs and to keep those golf clubs organized while they are used and transported on the golf course during a round of golf.
Traditionally, golf clubs were carried in golf bags that were carried about a golf course either by the golfers themselves or by their caddies. The predominance of golf bags in the art today are fabricated in contemplation of these methods of carriage. Such bags are typically constructed to include an oval or rounded tubular golf club compartment as well as a number of externally disposed pockets or other smaller compartments for carrying golf related items such as golf tees, golf balls, scorecards, and pencils for completing score cards. Depending on the quality and cost of the particular golf bag, the golf club compartment is constructed of a unitary ovoid or circular piece of plastic and includes a club divider on its open end, an encapsulating nylon shell which contains the smaller storage compartments, and a stand which extends outward from a side of the bag to assist in positioning the bag to remain standing while one of the clubs from the bag is in use. Alternatively, the bag is constructed to include a multi-sectional golf club compartment which is divided into a number of lined cavities that extend the length of the golf bag and enable the separate grouping of the golf clubs, a sewn shell surrounding the club compartment for storing golf accessories, including a golf umbrella, a ball retriever, a rain suit, and even a pair of golfer's shoes.
As is commonly known today, the predominance of golfers today rely on golf carts to transport their golf bags while they play a round of golf. In using golf carts, golfers are typically required to secure their bags onto golf cart carry stands which are typically located on the rear of the golf cart. This is usually accomplished by positioning their golf bag such that a security strap can be inserted through the carry handle on their bag and to a securement device. Unfortunately for the golfer, however, the positioning of their bag in this respect typically results in disposing the longer clubs of their bag, their woods, closer to them while their shorter clubs, their irons, are farther removed and located behind the woods. This positioning causes great inconvenience to the golfers as such positioning makes it difficult for the golfer to see and/or reach around the woods and longer irons to find the short iron that they need for a shot. Moreover, having to position their golf bag on the golf cart in this fashion compels the golfer to have to then reach or maneuver around those longer clubs in their bag to reach the clubs that are more commonly used on the fairways. Placing their golf bag in this position also inconveniences the golfers in that the golf ball pouch on their bag is positioned away from them, between the golf bag and the rear of the golf cart, while their garment pouch is facing them.
The predominance of golf bags in the art are also ill-fabricated or otherwise ill-suited to carry a golfer's clubs in such a way as to minimize or prevent the inadvertent contact of the heads of the golf club irons, regardless of whether the golf bag is carried by hand or by golf cart. The construction of such bags, thus, results in damage to the heads of the golf club irons as a result of the head-to-head contact. Even in those golf bags where the bag design is somewhat successful in avoiding damage to iron club heads, golf bags in the art are ill-suited to the convenience of the golfer as they, too, dispose of the golf club irons in a manner which is inconvenient for the golfer to reach the club iron of choice, return a used club iron to the proper receptacle. Moreover, none of the golf bags in the art provide that the bag is equally useful to the golfer regardless of their "handedness".
Other devices have been produced to carry golf clubs and golf related items for golfers while golfing. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. Patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor(s) Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,554,255 J. P. Mangan Jan. 12, 1971 4,055,207 J. E. Goodwin Oct. 25, 1977 4,200,131 E. L. Chitwood, et al. Apr. 29, 1980 4,911,465 H. J. Hauer Mar. 27, 1990 4,995,510 C. C. Fletcher, Jr. Feb. 26, 1991 5,458,240 P. R. Rich, et al. Oct. 17, 1995 ______________________________________
The '255 patent issued to Mangan discloses an adapter for sorting golf clubs which is insertable into the open end of golf bags that lack any integrally molded, apertured closure member. The Mangan device is seated on the ribs that are typically transversely provided on golf bags. The Mangan device has a planar configuration and permits the separation of club shafts from each other within the bag cavity by inclusion of a plurality of parallel-disposed tubes which insert into each of the openings of the adapter.
The '207 patent issued to Goodwin discloses an insertable, molded, one-piece retainer head which is received in the open end of a golf bag. The retainer includes three downwardly and forwardly pitched tiers having individual ribs which releasably secure the heads of golf club irons. The shafts of irons are received in passageways which are disposed proximate each rib and which extend downwardly at right angles from each stepped level. Woods in the Goodwin device are received, one each, in equally spaced passageways which are disposed on the uppermost tier level in a semicircular arrangement.
The '131 patent issued to Chitwood, et al., discloses a golf bag construction in which the top surface includes recessed openings for receiving the heads of each of golf club of a set of clubs wherein each opening is angled to correspond with the loft angle of a particular golf club iron. The Chitwood bag includes an upper plate and a lower plate connected by a series of tubes for receiving the shafts of golf clubs. The apertures for receiving the irons are disposed in two evenly spaced rows. The apertures for receiving the woods in the Chitwood bag are spaced at a distance far enough apart to avoid contact with the irons and/or the other wood heads.
The '465 patent issued to Hauer discloses a golf bag having a retractable wheel assembly and elongated tubes for receiving club shafts wherein the tubes include a resiliently deformable material for frictionally engaging and securing the club in a stable position while in the golf bag. The iron and wood tubes are received in three linearly arranged rows which are disposed on a planar surface and which permit the club heads to extend above that surface from each of their respective tubes.
The '510 patent to Fletcher, Jr. discloses a club separating insert system for a golf bag which permits the grouping of clubs at spaced intervals and a process for designing such systems for golf bags. The Fletcher system utilizes the difference in the length of the clubs as well as the range of rotational movement and size of the club heads in specifically disposing each iron and wood in particular positions within the golf bag.
The '240 patent to Rich, et al., discloses a golf bag which includes an upper club head support having a plurality of pockets and a plurality of corresponding shaft receiving holes for receiving a plurality of golf club heads and the shafts corresponding to each club head. The Rich golf bag further includes a lower base section which is disposed in a spaced relation to the upper club head support and a bag forming material section extending between the upper club head support and the lower base section. Each pocket of the upper club head section in the Rich golf bag is formed to protect each club head from contact with any other club head.
Of the foregoing devices, the '255 patent issued to Mangan, the '465 patent issued to Hauer, and the '510 patent issued to Fletcher disclose golf bags which fail to adequately protect against club head damage resulting from inadvertent club head contact. The Mangan and Hauer golf bags both provide for disposing each club in an individual club receptacle. However, neither golf bag provides sufficient distance or separation between each head of each club in the golf bag to minimize or eliminate the potential for club head damage. Such damage can result in either or both of the Mangan and Hauer golf bags by the rotation of the club heads in the golf bag upon movement of the bag or upon re-insertion of a golf club into a tube after use. The Fletcher golf bag attempts to solve this problem by providing for the separation of the golf club heads on the basis of height. However, the Fletcher bag similarly fails in its objective, especially as is evidenced by the interactions of adjacently disposed, similar length clubs. Clearly, longer shafted woods and irons are disposable so as to avoid contact with shorter shafted clubs. Where those clubs are of close proximity in weight and shaft length, however, contact between these clubs is unavoidable. The contact which can result is from either or both club movement in carrying or positioning the golf bag or in replacement of the club in the golf bag after use. Such conclusions are equally unavoidable regardless of which Fletcher design process and/or configuration is utilized.
Like the Mangan device, the retainer disclosed in the '207 patent to Goodwin includes a plurality of shaft-receiving passageways which are correspondingly disposed at right angles to the openings of the retainer head. The Goodwin device, however, is limited in its applicability by its construction. While golfers are either right or left-handed, the Goodwin device is clearly configured to adapt to one golfer's particular handedness and is not useable by a golfer of a different handedness. The angling of the openings for receiving the club heads clearly defines this limitation. Moreover, while securing a golfer's irons from inadvertent contact between rows of clubs, the Goodwin device fails to make similar provision for the golfer's irons within the same club row. The potential for club head intercontact and damage is also evidenced by the fact that the golf bags in which it is foreseen that the Goodwin device will be used are bags in which the club shaft length approximates the length of the golf bag. This bag length limitation enhances the risk of inadvertent club dislodging and contact as the clubs may be easily jostled out of their slots.
The devices disclosed in the '131 patent to Chitwood, et al., and the '240 patent issued to Rich, et al., include similar limitations. The Chitwood device does disclose a club holder arrangement which completely protects the heads of irons from inadvertent contact. However, this device includes the identical club head angulation and handedness limitations described regarding the Goodwin device. Moreover, the disposal of the iron club heads within spaces that enclose all but lower edge renders each club inconvenient, if not difficult, to remove from the Chitwood club divider. The Chitwood divider is also limited in its application given the continued evolution of golf club styles as that evolution in club style is bringing different angles of club face to each club in a golfers bag. Consequently, the design of a club head receptacle has severely limited the value of the Chitwood bag.
The Rich device includes the identical club head angulation and handedness limitations described for the woods as well as the irons of the golf set. The planar surface within each divider of the rich device fails to adequately seat each club head so that jostling or movement of the golf bag will not result in displacement of the clubs from their divider and contact between them. Moreover, the disposal of a club head in a divider whose lower surface is inclined parallel with the incline of the head support is not only impractical, it heightens the likelihood that the club head disposed in that divider will dislodge easily, and contact club heads of adjacent clubs.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a golf bag with a club separator which provides an improved means for securing iron club heads in a stable position to minimize or eliminate iron club head damage due to collision with other iron club heads.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved golf bag with a club separator which improves the security iron club heads within a golf club head compartment by providing that the lowermost end of the golf club shaft does not contact the lowermost surface of the golf bag when the club head is resting in the club head compartment.
It is another object of this invention to provide a golf bag with length and overall configuration designed to further stabilize iron club heads in their respective dividers and thereby avoid club damage.
Further, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved golf bag with a club separator which recognizes and accounts for the changes in the game today where golfers predominantly use golf carts, and not caddies, to carry golf bags.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved golf bag with a club separator where the short irons are always in front when the bag is mounted to a golf cart.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved golf bag with a club separator where the bag is useable to golfers regardless of their handedness.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved golf bag with a club separator which is more organized and out of which it is easier to play.